Lava Bold N1: Budget Smartphone with Premium Features in 2025

In a market flooded with budget smartphones, Lava Bold N1 has made a remarkable entry as a solid contender for buyers seeking performance, style, and affordability. Launched in May 2025, the Bold N1 is a part of Lava’s new lineup that targets first-time smartphone users, students, and budget-conscious consumers in India.

In this article, we explore every detail of the Lava Bold N1—from design and performance to battery life and competitive comparisons—so you can decide whether it’s the right choice for your needs.

📱 Design and Build Quality

One of the first things users notice about the Lava Bold N1 is its modern and sleek design. Despite being a budget smartphone, it features a premium matte-finish plastic back, offering a comfortable grip and resistance to fingerprints. The device is slim and lightweight, making it easy to use with one hand.

  • Dimensions: Approximately 165 x 76 x 9 mm
  • Weight: Around 190 grams
  • Colors: Available in vibrant color variants such as Arctic Blue and Midnight Black

Lava has clearly paid attention to aesthetics, making the Bold N1 look more expensive than its price tag suggests.

📺 Display: Large Screen for an Immersive Experience

The Lava Bold N1 features a 6.56-inch HD+ IPS LCD display with a 90Hz refresh rate, which is rare in this price segment. The smooth screen transitions and vibrant colors enhance the viewing experience, whether you’re watching videos, browsing social media, or playing light games.

  • Resolution: 1612 x 720 pixels
  • Refresh Rate: 90Hz
  • Aspect Ratio: 20:9
  • Screen-to-Body Ratio: Over 85%

The tear-drop notch houses the front camera, and the minimal bezels provide an immersive display. This screen setup is ideal for students attending online classes or budget users watching OTT content.

⚙️ Performance and Hardware

Under the hood, the Lava Bold N1 is powered by the Unisoc T616 octa-core processor, which is efficient enough to handle day-to-day tasks without noticeable lag. The processor is built on a 12nm architecture, striking a balance between performance and power efficiency.

  • Processor: Unisoc T616 (2x Cortex-A75 @ 2.0GHz + 6x Cortex-A55 @ 1.8GHz)
  • GPU: Mali-G57
  • RAM: 4GB LPDDR4X
  • Internal Storage: 128GB UFS 2.2
  • Expandable Storage: Up to 1TB via microSD card

This configuration is sufficient for multitasking, casual gaming, and running essential apps like WhatsApp, Zoom, YouTube, and Google Classroom.

📸 Camera Setup: Capture Life’s Moments

The Lava Bold N1 features a dual rear camera setup consisting of a 50MP AI main sensor paired with a VGA depth sensor. The primary sensor captures sharp and well-detailed photos under good lighting conditions. Lava has also included features like AI Scene Detection and Beauty Mode.

  • Rear Cameras:
    • 50MP (f/1.8) primary sensor
    • VGA secondary lens (for depth)
  • Front Camera:
    • 8MP selfie shooter with screen flash

The front camera is decent for selfies and video calls, and the screen flash helps improve shots in low light. The phone supports 1080p video recording at 30fps.

🔋 Battery and Charging

Battery life is another strong point of the Lava Bold N1. It houses a 5,000mAh battery that easily lasts more than a day with moderate usage. Whether you’re browsing, streaming, or attending classes, you won’t need to worry about running out of juice too soon.

  • Battery: 5000mAh Li-Polymer
  • Charging: 18W fast charging support via USB Type-C

The 18W fast charger included in the box ensures the phone gets charged from 0 to 100% in about 90 minutes, which is impressive for a device in this price range.

💻 Software Experience

The Bold N1 runs on Android 13 (Go Edition), which is optimized for low to mid-range hardware. Lava offers a clean, ad-free software experience, something many competitors fail to deliver.

  • Operating System: Android 13 (Go Edition)
  • Bloatware: Minimal or none
  • UI Features: Dark mode, digital wellbeing, app suggestions

The Go Edition ensures that essential apps like Gmail, Maps, and YouTube run smoothly, and the system remains responsive even with 4GB RAM.

📶 Connectivity and Other Features

Lava has ensured that the Bold N1 doesn’t compromise on essential connectivity features. It offers dual SIM slots with 4G VoLTE support, along with common connectivity options.

  • Network: 4G LTE, VoLTE, VoWiFi
  • SIM: Dual SIM (Nano + Nano + microSD)
  • Wi-Fi: 802.11 b/g/n
  • Bluetooth: 5.0
  • USB: Type-C
  • Sensors: Rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, Face Unlock, accelerometer, proximity sensor

Face Unlock and the fingerprint scanner provide quick and reliable ways to unlock the device securely.

💰 Price and Availability in India

The Lava Bold N1 is priced at ₹7,499, making it one of the most competitive budget smartphones in India as of 2025. It’s available through major online platforms like Amazon and Flipkart, and Lava’s official online store, as well as offline retail outlets.

  • Launch Price: ₹7,499
  • Availability: Online and offline (nationwide)

Given the features offered at this price, the Bold N1 provides excellent value for money.

🔁 Lava Bold N1 vs Tecno Pop 9

When comparing the Lava Bold N1 with other budget smartphones like the Tecno Pop 9, Lava’s offering clearly stands out in several areas:

Feature Lava Bold N1 Tecno Pop 9
Display 6.56″ HD+ 90Hz 6.6″ HD+ 60Hz
Processor Unisoc T616 Unisoc SC9863A
RAM & Storage 4GB RAM + 128GB storage 4GB RAM + 64GB storage
Camera 50MP Dual 13MP Dual
Battery 5000mAh, 18W fast charge 5000mAh, 10W
OS Android 13 Go Edition Android 13 Go Edition
Price ₹7,499 ₹7,499

Verdict: The Lava Bold N1 wins with its better processor, faster charging, higher-resolution camera, and more storage.

👍 Pros and 👎 Cons

✅ Pros

  • 90Hz display offers smoother scrolling
  • 128GB UFS storage at this price is rare
  • 50MP main camera is a standout
  • Clean, ad-free Android experience
  • USB-C with 18W fast charging

❌ Cons

  • No 5G support
  • Average low-light photography
  • Lacks support for heavy gaming titles

🧠 Who Should Buy Lava Bold N1?

The Lava Bold N1 is ideal for:

  • Students needing an affordable smartphone for online classes
  • First-time smartphone buyers
  • Users wanting clean Android experience without ads
  • Budget-conscious individuals looking for decent performance

🔚 Final Thoughts

In 2025, Lava Bold N1 is clearly among the top choices in the under ₹8,000 segment. With its balanced features, aesthetic design, and superior performance-to-price ratio, it outshines many rivals. Whether you’re a student, a senior citizen, or someone simply looking for a secondary device, the Lava Bold N1 delivers great value.

If you’re in the market for a new budget phone in 2025, the Lava Bold N1 deserves to be at the top of your list.

Koti Deva

I’m Koti, the writer behind ThoughtsMag, where I share my insights on business, technology, and travel. I’m passionate about staying ahead of the curve and exploring how these areas impact our daily lives. Through my articles, I aim to make complex topics accessible and offer practical advice to entrepreneurs, tech enthusiasts, and travelers. My goal is to inspire my readers to innovate, explore new opportunities, and make informed decisions in both their professional and personal journeys.